Email received from Google today, interesting stuff!

Dear Agency partner

As you may have already heard, today a broad alliance of leading technology and wireless companies today joined forces to announce the development of Android, the first truly open and comprehensive platform for mobile devices. We thought you might like to receive some further information on this announcement.  As well as detailed information on the release, please also see attached two additional pieces of information- an FAQ on Android and an overview of Google and mobile.

Google Inc., T-Mobile, HTC, Qualcomm, Motorola and others have collaborated on the development of Android through the Open Handset Alliance, a multinational alliance of technology and mobile industry leaders.

This alliance shares a common goal of fostering innovation on mobile devices
and giving consumers a far better user experience than much of what is
available on today’s mobile platforms. By providing developers a new level
of openness that enables them to work more collaboratively, Android will
accelerate the pace at which new and compelling mobile services are made
available to consumers.

With nearly 3 billion users worldwide, the mobile phone has become the most
personal and ubiquitous communications device. However, the lack of a
collaborative effort has made it a challenge for developers, wireless
operators and handset manufacturers to respond as quickly as possible to the
ever-changing needs of savvy mobile consumers. Through Android, developers,
wireless operators and handset manufacturers will be better positioned to
bring to market innovative new products faster and at a much lower cost. The
end result will be an unprecedented mobile platform that will enable
wireless operators and manufacturers to give their customers better, more
personal and more flexible mobile experiences.

Thirty-four companies have formed the Open Handset Alliance, which aims to
develop technologies that will significantly lower the cost of developing
and distributing mobile devices and services. The Android platform is the
first step in this direction — a fully integrated mobile “software stack”
that consists of an operating system, middleware, user-friendly interface
and applications. Consumers should expect the first phones based on Android
to be available in the second half of 2008.

The Android platform will be made available under one of the most
progressive, developer-friendly open-source licenses, which gives mobile
operators and device manufacturers significant freedom and flexibility to
design products. Next week the Alliance will release an early access
software development kit to provide developers with the tools necessary to
create innovative and compelling applications for the platform.

Android holds the promise of unprecedented benefits for consumers,
developers and manufacturers of mobile services and devices. Handset
manufacturers and wireless operators will be free to customize Android in
order to bring to market innovative new products faster and at a much lower
cost. Developers will have complete access to handset capabilities and tools
that will enable them to build more compelling and user-friendly services,
bringing the Internet developer model to the mobile space. And consumers
worldwide will have access to less expensive mobile devices that feature
more compelling services, rich Internet applications and easier-to-use
interfaces — ultimately creating a superior mobile experience.

Open Software, Open Device, Open Ecosystem

“This partnership will help unleash the potential of mobile technology for
billions of users around the world. A fresh approach to fostering innovation
in the mobile industry will help shape a new computing environment that will
change the way people access and share information in the future,” said
Google Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt. “Today’s announcement is more
ambitious than any single ‘Google Phone’ that the press has been speculating
about over the past few weeks. Our vision is that the powerful platform
we’re unveiling will power thousands of different phone models.”

“As a founding member of the Open Handset Alliance, T-Mobile is committed to
innovation and fostering an open platform for wireless services to meet the
rapidly evolving and emerging needs of wireless customers,” said René
Obermann, Chief Executive Officer, Deutsche Telekom, parent company of
T-Mobile. “Google has been an established partner for T-Mobile’s
groundbreaking approach to bring the mobile open Internet to the mass
market. We see the Android platform as an exciting opportunity to launch
robust wireless Internet and Web 2.0 services for T-Mobile customers in the
US and Europe in 2008.”

“HTC’s trademark on the mobile industry has been its ability to drive
cutting-edge innovation into a wide variety of mobile devices to create the
perfect match for individuals,” said Peter Chou, Chief Executive Officer,
HTC Corp. “Our participation in the Open Handset Alliance and integration of
the Android platform in the second half of 2008 enables us to expand our
device portfolio into a new category of connected mobile phones that will
change the complexion of the mobile industry and re-create user expectations
of the mobile phone experience.”

“The convergence of the wireless and Internet industries is creating new
partnerships, evolving business models and driving innovation,” said Dr.
Paul E. Jacobs, Chief Executive Officer of Qualcomm. “We are extremely
pleased to be participating in the Open Handset Alliance, whose mission is
to help build the leading open-source application platform for 3G networks.
The proliferation of open-standards-based handsets will provide an exciting
new opportunity to create compelling services and devices. As a result, we
are committing research and development resources to enable the Android
platform and to create the best always-connected consumer experience on our
chipsets.”

“Motorola has long been an advocate of open software for mobile platforms.
Today, we’re excited to continue this support by joining Google and others
in the announcement of the Open Handset Alliance and Android platform.
Motorola plans to leverage the Android platform to enable seamless,
connected services and rich consumer experiences in future Motorola
products,” said Ed Zander, Chairman and CEO of Motorola, Inc.

Regards

Google Agency Team UK

I have been wondering recently about mobile internet and whether it will become the next big thing as it has been touted as for the past 2 years.  The thoughts have stemmed from various industry meetings with mobile suppliers to discuss their views on it, although they may have been slightly biased as they were trying to sell it to me at the time!

I was shown some interesting stats on the highest search volume terms on the web and on mobile, the main difference being the number of adult keywords showing in the list for mobile search.  Porn, sex and free porn all featured in the mobile list but not in the web list.  Also in the mobile list were ebay, msn, messenger, yahoo, facebook, myspace leading me to believe people were actually using the search function to save them typing the web address into the address bar and also making me question whether there is a market for any form of product searches in mobile at all.  The only ones which appeared in the list were those relating directly to mobile phones, ringtones, wallpapers, pictures.

According to articles I posted over 3 months ago 2007 was the year for adoption and 2008 the year for growth.  Its doesn’t appear to be working that way right now with the only real adopters being the adult sector and the mobile sector.  One person I spoke to about it referred to the current situation being like the early days of the internet, slow loading pages, little measurability and low reach.  With the rapid advances in mobile technology surely at least two of these problems will be resolved in the next 6 months but that still leaves advertisers the task of finding a suitable way of utilising mobile internet for their means.  At present they are pretty limited and with many sites not having a WAP portal and more often than not purchases will be impossible.  Will mobile marketing ever truly materialise? Ill reserve judgement on that for the time being as things move fast in this industry and the next big break through could be just around the corner, but for now, I remain skeptical.

So what is the driving force behind the adoption of mobile internet usage? Accessible website? Faster mobile download? More functional handsets? Nope…its toilet breaks and office rules!

According to a study by cellular news a large number of Britains are using their mobiles in the office toilets to access the internet in a bid to bypass company rules on internet usage. The study goes on to say that more than 25% of the UK’s workforce is deprived of web access in some way and are turning to mobile handsets to get past the legislation.

Maybe this could be the catalyst for the mobile internet revolution!!!

Interesting article on the adoption of mobile marketing. US based buts gives some insight into how the market will need to adapt in order to realise its potential.

Incentives Key to Mobile Marketing MARCH 21, 2007 How hated is the thought of mobile marketing?
In theory, very hated.
Most people (90%) say that they are not at all interested in getting ads on their mobile phones, according to Harris Interactive.
Need to keep up-to-date with trends in online marketing and emerging media? In theory, that leaves less than 10% of users as an audience for mobile marketing.

In practice, the audience is much larger. As with any medium, once mobile ads are associated with something of value, user interest shoots up. If incentives are involved, it shoots up considerably.
Think about the Internet a decade ago. There was still some debate as to whether companies should be on the Web at all — would corporate influence stifle the free flow of ideas on the fresh new medium? Once companies did move online, consumers were initially reluctant to give out personal information. It took incentives and opt-in agreements to overcome their hesitance.
Right now, mobile is the only interactive medium where the typical user pays for both the cost of network access and the content it delivers. Mobile operators and content providers are finding that besides early adopters and enthusiasts, it is tough to find buyers for paid mobile music downloads, let alone video and games.
Introducing mobile advertising into the revenue mix changes the picture. Many users say that they would be willing to receive mobile marketing in exchange for incentives, so offering free applications, subsidized airtime or other goodies makes sense.
Over a third of adult mobile phone users say that they are willing to accept incentive-based advertisements. Of these, 78% say the best incentive would be cash. Other incentives that resonate include free minutes, free entertainment downloads and discount coupons.
As for ad formats, over half (56%) of those who are at least somewhat interested in receiving ads on their cellphones say they would prefer to receive them as text messages, while 40% would like to receive them as picture messages. Less than a quarter of adults would choose to receive them as videos, while others would have them sent as e-mail, voice mail or something else.

eMarketer estimates that mobile ad spending in the US will reach $4.8 billion by 2011, up from $421 million in 2006.

eMarketer senior analyst and mobile specialist John du Pre Gauntt says that current mobile business models practically beg for an infusion of ad dollars.
“Despite the best efforts to convince people otherwise, there is no mobility ‘premium,’” says Mr. Gauntt. “Over time, the justification for charging a 100%-300% markup on a piece of content or service simply because it is delivered over a radio channel will not wash when the same content is available online to be synched with a handset.”

interesting information on the acceptance of mobile ads and the need for them to be appropriately targetted. nothing ground breaking but it at least puts some figures on the acceptance level.


Report: Mobile ads are more accepted
There is good news for mobile advertisers. A new report from Harris Interactive shows increasing acceptance of mobile ads. Correctly targeted ads to users will only increase the acceptance level according to the report. The bad news? Incorrectly targeted the ads will likely only annoy the user.

“According to our research, cell phone users are more willing than ever to receive advertising,” said Judith Ricker, President of the Marketing Communications Research Practice at Harris Interactive. “To make their mobile campaigns more effective, advertisers should take note of how cell phone users are most interested in being contacted.” Mobile ads should also be relevant, have a clear call to action and let users control how they are profiled according to the study.
According to the study 90% of mobile users are uninterested in receiving ads, however, it shows that if the ads are properly targeted only 64% are uninterested. What this means is that demographic, ad type and the offer are the keys to continued ad acceptance.
Younger demographics (men and women between 18 and 39 years old) are most receptive to mobile ads if the ads offer something of interest - cash, free phone minutes, etc. Older users (40 to 49 years old) are least interested in mobile ads. Income also changes how ads are seen. For the income range of $125,000 to $149,000, only about 13% of users are interested in mobile ads.